Terno Calunga Estrelada
Calunga Estrelada is a percussive ensemble - terno - embodying an encounter of rhythms, processions and songs, in which (Afro-)Brazilian cultures of congada, maracatu de baque solto and samba pisado are displaced and united with the purpose of disrupting Dutch territories and bodies towards movement and joy. The first half of their name derives from the kikongo word for the great sea, the spiritual threshold and conjunctive space between life and death, which also baptizes quilombola communities in the states of Goiás and Minas Gerais and the spiritual dolls used in Northeastern Maracatu traditions. The latter half is inherited from Seu Estrelo, a cultural group from Brasília responsible for forming new generations of “folk” artists since the early 2000s, including CE whistlers Gabriel de Oliveira and Rafael Jama, imbuing in them a concern with re-enchanting their city, land and world.
For U?, the terno will bring its snares, drums, bells, shakers, brass, whistles and voices to Utrecht, singing the repertoire of Gabriel’s SSS band, traditionals and spirituals.
Gabriel de Oliveira - guitar, gongué, whistle
Rafael Jama - caixa, whistle
Ge Veríssimo, Mário Gesteira - bombo
Karla Passeri - agbê
Niels Luteijn - gongué
Zenzele Mthembu-Salter - mineiro
Lezaam Beets, Timothé Lantoine - brass
Hannah Badura, Marilou Fortune - dance